Every Game You Play
by kurthummelismyhero
Summary: Boys Over Flowers AU with Kurtbas end game. After rescuing a student at Dalton Academy from committing suicide, Kurt Hummel is offered a scholarship to attend the academy, where he butts heads with the leader of the famous G4 clique that controls the school. But will Kurt be able to decide between the violinist with the broken heart and the snarky man who began as his worst enemy?
1. Chapter 1

The newscaster's voice crackled through the small TV speakers. "The Smythe Inc. stock has quadrupled in value due to a recent surge in popularity among consumers. William Smythe, and his wife Charlotte, have used much of their proceeds to build a private school in Westerville Ohio, their hometown, for the brightest, and richest students in the country. The first student enrolled at the school, Dalton Academy, was Sebastian Smythe, the couple's son. Having now attracted enough attention from media and academic news, families from all over the world are paying the steep tuition in the hope of their child receiving the best education possible."

Burt Hummel grabbed the remote from the couch armrest and turned down the volume, and turned to his son. "A bunch of crap, that is." He said. "The school is for fancy rich kids with snobby parents."

"Uh-huh." Kurt nodded beside him, sewing closed a hole in an old sweater. He agreed with his father on most points, but the students from Dalton tended to drive nice cars, and be a bit reckless in them, which allowed Kurt the chance to fix them up at their auto shop and sometimes even drive them back to their owners. He may not like all the students coming into the shop and looking down on him, but he liked their cars, and they needed the money.

"Oh, Kurt, tomorrow I need you to take Andrew Larson's car to Dalton, you know the red corvette, and deliver it, remember to bring bus fare with you." Burt said, standing up and walking to shut the TV off. "Goodnight, kid." He said, patting Kurt on the back and walking up the stairs to his room.

Kurt stayed up late, stitching up holes in his old clothes, hoping that they might last another year. Near midnight he put his sewing supplies away and got ready for bed, falling asleep quickly.

Waking 6 hours later, he stumbled out of bed and put on his best clothes, and grabbing a bagel, headed out for school. Walking inside his first class, English, he was greeted by his best friend, Mercedes, who handed him a coffee. "Thanks, I needed this." He said gratefully.

"That's what you say every day, hon." Mercedes laughed.

"Well, that's because it's true." He said, inhaling the warm smell coming from the paper cup.

"Do you have any plans for after school? A new music store opened downtown, I thought we could check it out." She suggested.

"I wish I could," Kurt said. "I have to drive a car up to Dalton again, so I won't be back home until late."

"Gonna scope out the school and bring me back some gossip?" She asked hopefully.

"I doubt it, I'm sure they all have better things to do than converse with the car repairman's son." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, if it makes you feel better I think they are missing out." She said, smiling at him. He returned her smile and before they could continue the teacher walked in, bringing their attention to the front of the room.

Kurt hummed along with the radio as the corvette raced down the highway. He was always careful to drive the speed limit, not wanting his father to get in trouble, but he still felt like he was flying. He wondered what it would be like to attend Dalton Academy. He didn't much care for the blazers, but he wasn't in the position to complain about clothes at the moment. He always made sure to dress well though when he visited Dalton, he wanted to blend in as well as possible.

Turning off the highway he drove up the long road to the school. It sprawled out over many acres, there were 2 wings of classrooms, one for boys and one for girls, with a large cafeteria made of solid glass connected them. A short way away from the main building several dorms were built, some for students who lived on campus, and some nicer ones for the teachers that taught there full time. Kurt parked the car and headed over to the student dorms, hoping to easily find Andrew Larson. He walked down the halls, heading towards the common area when he heard Andrew's name. He turned around and stood near the hallway where the students had mentioned the name, listening in for a clue as to where he might be.

"-o, I know, there was a notice in his locker, one from G4! The whole school is out to get hi-" The voice cut off as another student raced passed Kurt and turned down the hallway, interrupting them. "A few of us spotted him on the roof of the dorm, come on outside we gotta see it!"

_Why is he on the roof?_ Kurt thought, turning around to go back to where he saw some stairs leading up. He decided that it wasn't much of his business if Andrew liked to chill on the roof, but Kurt needed to get home so he made his way up the 3 flights of stairs to the top, and opened the door. A small crowd of students had congregated at the side of the roof, and a taller head stood over them. Kurt pushed his way through the crowd, and asked a student, "Where's Andrew Larson?"

"Right there!" the student replied, pointing to the teenage boy standing on the edge of the roof.

Kurt walked forward as quickly as he could, but he didn't want to scare the boy. "Andrew?" he asked. Seeing the boy nod he continued. "I have your car downstairs, it is all fixed up." He said. "I need the money now though." He wasn't sure what to say.

"My dad can take care of it." Andrew said, measuring the distance to the ground with his eyes. 3 stories down, another crowd of students had gathered.

"What no! I need the money now." Kurt said, hoping the boy would get off the ledge to pay him. He wasn't quite sure what had made the boy get up there in the first place, though the blood crusting over on his top lip would suggest he had recently been in a fight.

"I can't stand it anymore." Andrew said. "Don't you get it? The whole school wants me dead. G4 has placed a mark on my head! I wanted to make my family proud, but I can't take it." Andrew glanced up and Kurt, then back to the ground. He leaned forward to jump, and in that moment Kurt rushed forward, wrapping his arms around the boy, halting his downward descent. Below, several camera's flashed, and Kurt didn't realize how much his act of bravery would change his life.

Ignoring the shouts of students around him, he pulled Andrew up over the ledge and set him down on the roof floor. The other students moved away, talking amongst themselves about what they had witnessed. Several had their phones out and were looked at the pictures they had taken of the event. Kurt called 911 and waited with the boy until the ambulance came to take him to the hospital.

Kurt walked down to the bus stop and waited for the next bus to come. Once it arrived he hopped on, taking out a book and preparing for the 2 hour ride home.

Arriving home in the evening he greeted his dad and went to change into more comfortable clothes before returning downstairs to do some mending while watching the news. His father joined him and Kurt had begun to tune the newscaster out when a word caught his attention, drawing his eyes to the screen.  
>"Wide spread bullying at the prestigious private school, Dalton Academy, has driven a student to suicide, before the boy delivering his car saved his life." The brunette said.<p>

Burt looked over at Kurt, an eyebrow raised, before looking back to the TV as the newscaster continued.

"The student, who due to request shall remain unnamed, was standing on the ledge of the boy's dorm, during which time the other boy, identified as Kurt Hummel, tried to talk him down. When the boy jumped, Kurt Hummel was reported to run forward and save him. No word yet has come as to whether the boy's family have thanked Kurt Hummel, but Dalton Academy has a lot to explain if they want parents to continue enrolling their students there." The newscaster moved on to another topic while Kurt figured out what to say to his waiting dad.

"Um, well, yeah, that happened today." Kurt stumbled over his words.

"I'm proud of you, Kurt." His father said. He started to say more but the doorbell stopped him. "I'll get it." He said. Walking over to the door he pulled it open. Outside the house a well dressed woman stood.

"Is this the residence of Kurt Hummel?" She asked, smiling.

"Yes it is…" Burt said. "I'm his father. Who are you?"

"I am here on behave of the Smythe family to offer your son a full ride scholarship to attend Dalton Academy."

"Excuse me? Why would I want Kurt to go there, after what just happened?" Burt asked.

"Dalton Academy offers the best education in the country for high school students, upon his graduation your son could attend any college he desires." Everything will be paid for, including his transportation to the school."

"Kurt!" Burt called. "Come here!"

Kurt came to the door. "What is it?"

"This lady here is offering you a full ride scholarship to attend Dalton Academy."

"Are you serious?" He asked, looking at the lady incredulously.

"Quite serious. The Smythe family is hoping your bravery will inspire the other students to be better people." She said. "Our sources informed us that you sing in the choir at your current school, and we are willing to supply a vocal coach to you if you compete in the singing competitions with the other students. They may have more practice than you, but we are sure that with some help you will catch right up. This opportunity offers a lot, especially if you intend to follow a career in singing."

"I do." Kurt said.

Burt paused. "Well, do you want to go?"

"As much as I hate to be around so many bullies, the educations and music program sounds really helpful, especially when looking for scholarships. I accept." Kurt said.

"Fantastic!" the lady exclaimed. "Here is your bus pass, you start tomorrow." She motioned to another man standing near the car, and he walked over. "Here is your uniform, which you will be expected to wear tomorrow." She said, as the man handed over the garment bag. "We look forward to your attendance."

Kurt thanked her and closed the door. "I did not expect that to happen."

"Do you think you can deal with the students though?" Burt asked concerned.

"It won't be anything new, plus maybe I can pass under the radar for a while." Kurt said.

"I doubt that son, your name was on the news, everyone with a student there will probably be asking about you."

"I remain hopeful." Kurt said. "I'm heading to bed now." He bid his father goodnight and walked down the stairs to his basement room. Grabbing his phone from the nightstand he dialed Mercedes' number and waited for her to pick up.

"Kurt?" she said when she picked up.

"Yeah." Kurt said. "Guess what happened today?"

"You mean besides the lifesaving you texted me about on the bus?"

"I have been offered a scholarship to Dalton just now, so don't worry about bringing me coffee tomorrow." He said.

"Wait, really? I would ask why but gracious boy, that place is beautiful. I've heard amazing things about their music program." She said. "I am happy and slightly worried for you, to be honest."

"Me too." Kurt said, "But I think I can manage. Anyway I just wanted to tell you so you didn't end up having to drink both coffees and ending up on a caffeine high the whole day." He laughed.

"Ha ha, very funny." Mercedes said.

They wished each other goodnight and Kurt crawled into bed, hoping to get enough rest before tomorrow.

It was still dark outside when Kurt left for the bus stop. He pulled his coat tighter around his shoulders, attempting to block out the slight chill in the air. He tried not to think to much about how the day would play out, or whether he would make friends, though he sincerely doubted that he would. Scholarships weren't offered to Dalton students, and he couldn't imagine that the other students would look kindly on a mechanic's son. The bus arrived, pulling him out of his head, and he boarded, pulling out a book to read on the long ride. At 8am he was dropped off in front of Dalton's gates.

Walking up the driveway he saw many students walking atoms the lawn. A few were making their way towards the breakfast hall, to eat before a long day of classes. Kurt walked towards the main building. Upon entering he found the main office, where a bubbly secretary gave him his class schedule. She wished him well on his first day as he left the office to head over to his class, singing lessons. The map that came with his class schedule showed that the music building was down a long path into the woods, away from the other buildings.

As he walked down the path he began to hear the sound of a violin playing though the forest. He quickened his pace, looking around for a violinist to accompany the music. As he rounded a corner in the path the violinist came into view. A dark haired man stood dressed in solid white in the middle of a small meadow, near a bench. The man continued playing, oblivious to his new audience. As his piece finished, which Kurt recognized as a lullaby version of Teenage Dream, he lifted his head and noticed Kurt.

Kurt awkwardly coughed. "Don't mind me, I'm just looking for the music building." He said nervously. The man only nodded and began a new piece as Kurt walked past.

Unbeknownst to Kurt, the white clad man watched him as he walked away.

Finding the music building easily, Kurt turned down the hall, looking for the room number on his class schedule. He passed by some students and his ears picked up parts of the conversation.

"No, it sucks, my parents aren't letting me buy the new convertible that I wanted. I've been asking them for weeks but they think 2 cars is enough for one person, which is so hypocritical. I mean, my dad has at least 4 cars." The student complained. The other students surrounding him tried to console the weeping student, and Kurt tried not to laugh in his face. He didn't even have one car, and these kids were complaining about not getting a third. He wanted to set the kid straight, but reminded himself he wanted to stay invisible, especially if the bullying was as bad as it was yesterday.

Kurt found his classroom, glad to see several other students were already there. A sign on the far wall above a raised level read 'The Warblers'. Kurt say down in the back and waited as the room slowly filled with people. Suddenly a hush descended over the room as the door opened and 2 impeccably dressed men entered. None of them wore the school required blazer or slacks, they were dressed in suits and waistcoats, and Kurt got the intense feeling that they knew they were better than everyone else. As Kurt looked at each of them, he recognized the violinist from the forest standing to the right side of the leading man. Behind them stood two other men, one with bleach blonde hair, and another with darker hair, who had a tendency to glance longingly at the blonde beside him. Returning to the man leading the group, Kurt noticed a hard look in his eyes. There was no doubt in Kurt's mind that this man was the leader. He stood tall in a dark grey suit, green shirt and grey waistcoat. He surveyed the room with a cold gaze, and his eyes fixed on a boy sitting next to Kurt.

Motioning for him to come forward, the man addressed the room. "Students of Dalton, this boy here has failed to do what I asked of him."

The boy he called up trembled as he approached.

"It is correct then, that you refused to do what G4 asked? Is it also true that you do not desire to be kicked out of Dalton?"

The boy nodded, terrified.

"Indeed. Well it is decided then." The man held out his hand behind him to the blond. "Jeff, do you still have some juice left?" He asked.

"You want it?" Jeff asked, placing it in the leader's hand. He took the bottle and removed the lid. As the boy watched in horror, the leader poured the drink all over his white shirt. Humiliated, the boy ran from the room.

The leader turned to the students gathered in the room and addressed them. "I hand shown mercy today, pray that you do not upset me." The group of 4 left the room, and soon afterward the room erupted in murmuring. Kurt though was uninterested in gossip about what the boy had done to deserve such abuse and left the room after the four.

"Hey! Hey you!" He called out. To hell with staying quiet! This was wrong, and Kurt wouldn't stand by and allow it to continue. He ran up to them, where they had stopped to amuse themselves with watching Kurt run. The violinist stood in the back, not showing any interest in the conversation about to take place, but the leader of the group looked ready to put Kurt in his place.

"Who do you think you are? Treating people like they are less than you? They are not, and you do not get to decide who deserves respect and who doesn't, asshole." Kurt yelled in his face.

"That's cute." The leader said. "But that is where I am afraid you are wrong. You see, my parents built this place, so yes, I am better than them, and I decide who gets respect and who doesn't, so back off before you hurt yourself." He turned around and walked away, his friends following him, though the violinist spared a glance and a gentle smile back at the stunned Kurt.

Kurt was disgusted. How could someone with so much influence want to use it to terrify his peers? Didn't he have something better to do than bully people? Kurt returned to the choir class, but the minute the bell rang he headed towards the quietest place he could find to vent.

Coming across a stairwell, he ran to the top of the building, up to the roof, where he had saved the student yesterday. He walked over to the side of the roof, looking out over the rolling hills that began where the paddocks and stables for the equestrian students ended.

"That asshole!" He shouted. "Who does he think he is?" Oh right, he is Sebastian Smythe, well known heir to a fortune, and in Kurt's opinion, a pain in the butt. "Sebastian, more like Sebastard!" He yelled at the sky. "He is a horrible person, and I hope I never see him again." He said, frustrated that such a paradise came with such a devil.

"Ahem." A voice sounded behind him.

Whirling around, Kurt was shocked to see the violinist standing there. "Did you just get here?" He asked, panicking.

"Sebastard is my favorite, granted it could be more creative but I give you props for it." He said. "I'm Blaine Anderson."

Kurt's jaw dropped. Blaine Anderson? Like the Anderson Concert Hall in New York? No wonder he was so musically talented. "I didn't mean to, I thought no one was here." He said, unsure of how to remedy the situation.

"I would say no worries, but it seems your worries have just begun. Just a warning for you. Sebastian doesn't take well to mouthy students." Blaine said.

Kurt nodded, looking at the floor. "I'll keep that in mind." Blaine grinned at him and walked away, and down the stairs, leaving Kurt alone. This was not a great start to the day.

Seeing that he had a free period now, Kurt pulled is phone out and decided to do some research on this G4 clique. He wasn't sure he would find anything, but a quick glance at the school's webpage showed a picture of them together. The caption underneath it said "In attendance at Dalton Academy is Sebastian Smythe, whose family built this school several years ago, Blaine Anderson, whose parents run a music foundation in New York City, Jeff Sterling, whose father is Governor of Ohio, and Nick Duval, whose parents were the creators of a line of household cleaners, making Duval a household name."

Kurt didn't think that Jeff and Nick would be of as much importance so first he did a google search for Sebastian Smythe. It revealed that Sebastian's parents owned a large chain store in the British Isles that had brought in a ton of money. His parents lived in Maine currently, but they moved between several different houses often.

The Blaine Anderson search revealed less than Sebastian's, but Kurt learned that Blaine was in the public eye almost as much because of his parents government connections, and the press that surrounds owning the world's largest music conservatory. Blaine had had a brother, but several years ago Cooper had gone missing, which set Blaine up to be the sole inheritor of the conservatory.

"I'll never understand rich people." Kurt said to himself. "Why can't they spend their money helping the poor, instead of building private schools?"

He looked around the roof, and walked over to the edge. Students were starting to wander towards the large cafeteria and Kurt decided it might be a good idea to get there early as well. He climbed down the stairs and across the grass to the giant glass walled building. He took a seat at one of the corner tables in the back, hoping to avoid people's attention. He had had enough drama for one day. He began eating the lunch he had packed, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When Kurt had read over the pamphlets he was given last night, he learned that his lunch plan was not covered by his scholarship, and if he wanted he could pay the $500 a month fee for the school's world class food. Kurt promptly began packing his own lunch after reading that.

The cafeteria was filling with students, the bell having just rung, and Kurt kept his eyes to his plate, not wanting to interact with the wrong people. He heard some footsteps approaching him and he looked up. 2 girls stood there, the one on the left tapping her foot on the floor.

"You're sitting at our table."

"Excuse me?" Kurt asked.

"New kid, you're sitting in our spot. You need to move." The lead girl huffed, glaring at him through her pink and blue bangs. He turned back to his sandwich, intent on ignoring them when a hand reached out and grabbed his wrist. Thinking that it was one of the girls standing there he looked up to snap at them to get their hands off him, but a face in the corner of his vision caught his attention. He turned to look at it, and noticed it was attached to the hand holding his wrist.

"Come with me!" The girl said, cryptically.

Curious, Kurt grabbed his sandwich and allowed her to drag him away.

"I'm Rachel." The brunette said. "I respect your standing up to those girls, but it won't get you far. The best thing to do is to avoid them entirely. Come with me, I know a safe place to eat." She took off out the doors and Kurt jogged behind her, until she stopped at a small picnic table outside under a large oak tree.

"This is where I eat most days, it's safe here." Rachel said as Kurt sat down across from her.

"Um, thank you. I'm Kurt." He said, introducing himself.

"You're in the Warblers right?"

He nodded.

"I'm in the Trouble Tones, that's the girls' choir. I love it." She said.

"I don't know what I think of the Warbler's yet. I have only been to one rehearsal after all." Kurt said.

"Oh, I totally forgot my textbook in science, can you watch my stuff while I run get it?" She asked. Kurt nodded and she took off across the grass. As Kurt watched her run he saw Sebastian and the rest of G4 turning a corner right as Rachel ran around it, right into Sebastian's chest. 'Oh no, this can't be good.' He thought to himself as he gathered both of their things and walked over, hoping to defuse the obviously tense situation.

As he walked up he heard Sebastian berating Rachel. "You clumsy girl! No wonder the Trouble Tones hasn't won Sectionals yet with you on the team, you can't even watch where you're going."

"That's enough, Sebastian." Kurt said, walking over to stand next to the crying Rachel. "It was an accident, you don't need to yell at her."

"Excuse me?" Sebastian asked, bewildered that the new kid had dared to stand up to him a second time.

"You heard me. Leave her alone. She didn't do it on purpose, though I can imagine it is hard for you to comprehend that not everything in the world revolves around you." Kurt said. He grabbed Rachel's arm, and led the shaking girl away.

When Kurt got home from his first day he decided it was best to lie to his father. As much as he hated having to do that, he didn't want his father to worry about him. So when Burt asked him how his first day was, Kurt told him that it was great, and that he had already made friends.

After talking to his dad for a short while he ran up the stairs to do somethings on his computer. Finally he went to bed, hoping the next day would go better.

It didn't.

Kurt woke up and went about his normal routine, grabbing some toast to eat while he waited for the bus. Once he was on the bus he texted Mercedes back.

**Mercedes:** How was your first day?

**Kurt:** It was alright, had a small confrontation with the meerkat who thinks he runs the school, but I did make a new friend.

**Mercedes: **Wait, you're not friends with the meerkat right?

**Kurt:** What? God no. I met a girl on the girls' choir, the meerkat was yelling at her but I stepped in.

**Mercedes: **A regular prince charming. xP You like the classes though?

**Kurt:** They are a bit harder, but I'm still under the radar so the student's haven't made it a pain.

Kurt arrived at the gates of Dalton with only a few minutes to race up the driveway and to choir. He walked through the doors, thankful to see that Meerkat wasn't in attendance, nor were any of his lackeys. He made it through the class, swaying in the background. Afterward he headed to his locker, to pull out his textbooks and put away his lunch. He unlocked the combination and opened the door to see a strange card with a skull and crossbones on it.

"What the hell is this?" He asked himself. He turned it over to see 'G4' written on the back. "Huh." He said, dropping it in the trash on his way to class, but he heard snickers from his peers as he walked down the hallway.

He walked into his class and headed towards his desk, only to find it already occupied.

"Um, excuse me, that's my seat." Kurt said.

"This? No this is mine." The student said, grinning.

"I am sure it is mine. Move." Kurt said, wondering what was going on as the students around him giggled.

"No. Go sit in that desk back there." The student said.

Kurt looked over to a desk facing the corner. He walked over to it and tried to turn it around and move it to the other desks, but it wouldn't budge. Getting down on his hands and knees he looked to see what the problem was. He noticed some strange goo around the base of each leg, and when he pressed his finger against it he found it to be hard. Some assholes had super glued his desk to the floor.

"Screw you." He hissed at the students, before leaving the room. He grumbled to himself as he walked to his locker, and put his books away. He hated giving up so quickly but he didn't think staying in that class would be good at the moment. Kurt locked his locker and turned around, a familiar cold sensation greeted his face, and his vision clouded red.

"How's class, huh? Were you not satisfied? It's what you deserve, lower class scum." The students continued to call him names has he blindly fumbled towards the bathroom to wash the cherry red slushy off his face.

He finally got to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He wasn't alone though.

"What happened, Kurt?" Rachel's voice said.

"Uh, some ass's thought I looked better in red I guess." Kurt muttered, gathering some paper towels to clean up the mess.

"Did you find a red card in your locker?" Rachel sounded concerned.

"Yeah, what does that mean?"

"Nothing good. It means G4 has given permission to the students to abuse you. It doesn't happen often, only to kids that get on the bad side of one of the G4 members. Unsurprisingly that is usually Sebastian."

"Good to know, though it is a bit later than helpful." Kurt groaned, trying to get the red dye out of his white shirt.

"Sorry, I should have told you." Rachel said. She dampened a paper towel and helped Kurt get the slushy out of his hair.

By the time lunch was over Kurt had done his best to remove the red dye and look presentable. He got through the rest of his classes with only a little bit of torment, but finally it was time to head to his private vocal lesson. He walked down the wooded path, where he had first seen Blaine. He hoped to see him again, but the glade he had been playing in was empty. Kurt continued on his way, and got to his private lesson room, to find it packed full of boxes and spare chairs.

"What the fuck?" Kurt wondered. He knew the school would have cleaned it out since they knew he would be using it. He walked over to a supply closet to find it entirely empty.

"Great." He said. Resigned, he began carrying the boxes and chairs back to the supply closet.

Across campus, the infamous 64 members sat in their private study hall, watching TV and talking.

"You won't believe who is going to stop by today." Sebastian said prideful.

"The Pizza delivery man?" Jeff asked.

"Who?" Blaine asked.

"Not the delivery man, Jeff, Kurt. I left him a surprise in his rehearsal room. He should be here in the next 5 minutes." Sebastian gloated.

They continued watching TV but every so often Sebastian would check his wrist watch. After 10 minutes and no sign of Kurt, Sebastian began to wonder what had gone wrong with his plan.

30 minutes passed and no sign of the new kid.

50 minutes passed.

60 minutes passed.

Sebastian started fidgeting. "Blaine, can you go check on Kurt? I want to know what is keeping him."

"You're a bit obsessed with this kid, you realize that right?" Blaine said, concerned.

"What? No I'm not."

"This is the first kid to stand up to you isn't it?" Nick pitched in.

Sebastian groaned. "Just go check okay, Blaine?"

"Whatever you say." Blaine exaggerated a bow and headed out the door.

Blaine walked along the path to the choir building, picking up his pace when he heard yelling. He burst into the entrance hallway to see Kurt nose to nose with a student, yelling at him to release him.

"Get your hands off me!" Kurt shouted, shaking his arm trying to dislodge the lackeys that were holding him back.

"Come on, I heard you liked to fight." The student replied.

"I don't know what you are on, but let go!" Kurt struggled some more before Blaine decided he should intervene.

"What's going on here?" He asked, striding forward to the scene.

"Blaine-" The student said quietly.

"Release him." Blaine interrupted. The lackeys let go of Kurt, who quickly put some distance between him and them. The other students involved fled the scene, not wanting to upset a member of G4.

"Why did you do that?" Kurt asked.

"The bullying annoys me." Blaine said, before turning around and leaving to return to the G4 study hall.

Arriving there he asked Sebastian, "Why did you do that to him?"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow before understanding what Blaine meant. "What? They were only supposed to scare him."

"I think you will have to work a bit harder to scare Kurt." Blaine said, remembering the fierce look in Kurt's eyes.

They boys returned to their chatting, and were interrupted by a pounding knock at the door.

"Excuse me?" Nick asked, opening the door to be brushed past by a furious Kurt.

"What the fuck Sebastian?" Kurt yelled at the Smythe, who began to cower.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, stepping back.

"You set those thugs on me didn't you? Who do you think you are to arrange bullying?" Kurt said, closing the distance between them, rising to his toes to glare the taller boy in the eye.

Sebastian tried to take a step back again but was met with the wall, blocking his exit.

"If you think that your little 'playing god' game here, deciding who gets bullied and who doesn't is going to control me, you've got another thing coming. Stay far away from me." Kurt turned on his heel and strode out of the room, leaving the 4 boys in the room stunned. Sebastian smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

Kurt headed home after the incident with Blaine and the other students. He arrived home around dark, and scurried down the stairs to his room to see if his arms had bruised. He took his shirt off and looked in the mirror. Luckily though, they had not, which made Kurt's life easier. While attending McKinley he had become very talented at using some make-up to hide his bruises, but it took forever to apply.

He texted Mercedes again, and they agreed to go see a movie that night. Kurt changed out of his uniform and into his street clothes, his safety pin skinny jeans and a dark red button down. He sat out on the front porch, waiting for Mercedes to pick him up. He had a bag at his side.

"Hey Kurt!" Mercedes said as she parked on the side of the road. "Get in."

Kurt ran across the lawn and hopped in. "Hi 'Cedes. We need to stop by the dry cleaners on the way to the theater, I'm afraid that McKinley isn't the only school to enjoy covering their targets in frozen beverages."

"Meerkat?" She asked.

"Nah, well, not him directly. Apparently if you piss him off he gives the school permission to bully you. Not exactly the 'safe haven' my dad thought it would be, but the education is better, so I think I'll stay." Kurt said, resigned.

"Well, stay strong then, that doesn't sound enjoyable."

"Oh it isn't, but there are some nice things about it." Kurt said, thinking of Rachel and Blaine, and he wasn't complaining about the terrified look on Sebastian's face when he left him earlier that day.

Kurt was able drop his uniform off at the cleaners before they went to the movie, for which he was grateful, who knew what new torments would occur to someone if their uniform wasn't perfect? Kurt wasn't going to take that risk.

He got home around midnight and crawled into his bed to sleep, glad that tomorrow was Saturday.

Kurt woke up the next morning relatively refreshed and calm after the craziness of yesterday. He took a shower and got dressed, planning on going grocery shopping while his dad was working at the garage. He dropped his dad off at work and took his old truck to the store, where he picked up the food they would need for the next couple weeks. He was driving back home from picking up his uniform when he saw none other than Blaine Anderson sitting at a bus stop. Kurt pulled over and walked up to him.

"Saving the Ozone layer today?" He asked, jerking Blaine out of his daydream.  
>"What? No, I'm here to see the man I love." Blaine said.<p>

"He is coming on the bus?" Kurt asked.

"You could say that." Blaine laughed. "Look, here it comes." He pointed down to street to where the bus was approaching them. Kurt looked Blaine over. He was wearing white again, and his clothes were perfectly pressed. Kurt was curious if his closet was full of white. Maybe he liked snow?

"Do you mind if I stay here?" Kurt was curious who this man was.

"Not at all, he won't object." Blaine said.

Kurt sat down next to Blaine and watched as the bus drove up. A muscular blond man's picture was on the side of the bus, with only a small pair of underwear covering him. Kurt turned his focus to the bus doors as several people got off it. The bus soon continued on its way, but no one stopped to talk to Blaine.

"Um, is he coming on a different bus maybe?"

"No, he was on that one."

"I don't understand."

"Well, the model, in the picture, we used to go out. We loved each other a lot, but he has long since left." Blaine said, looking at the ground.

"Where did he go?"

"LA, for his modeling career. I'm happy for him, but I miss him."

Kurt didn't know much about this man of Blaine's dreams, but he knew he didn't like him. Kurt bid Blaine farewell and continued on his way.

He unloaded the groceries and turned up the music on his MP3 player, singing along with the show tunes, until it was time for him to go pick his dad up from work. He didn't admit it, but he spent much of that time wondering about the blond model.

The next day was Sunday, which Kurt spent most of his time inside, until he went for a walk in the evening. He had just passed by a large oak tree when he noticed that there were steps behind him. He slowed down but the steps slowed down as well. He didn't want to be scared, it could just be the wind, after all, but Kurt knew it wasn't. He picked up his pace, hoping to get home before whoever it was did what they were planning on doing.

Kurt turned down his street to see a man in a black suit walking towards him. He decided to cross the street but both men followed him. He began to run when he noticed their footsteps were getting closer. They chased after him and right when Kurt reached the curb to run across an intersecting street, a car pulled in front of him blocking his way. He ran into the side of the car and fell back. A door opened and he was carried into the car, where a blue rag was placed over his mouth and with one breath he passed out.

Kurt awoke in a strange house, where he was surrounded by women in short maid uniforms. Was he in some sort of porno? He asked himself, before a lady stood forward and held out a suit.

"Put this on." She commanded, and ushered everyone out of the room so Kurt could change. Kurt wasn't sure what was going on, and was frankly quite terrified, but he thought it might be best to play along. He put the suit on and knocked on the door, hoping they would tell him where he was. The lady returned and several maids came forward and began to style his hair.

"What is going on?" He asked, as two maids were tying polished leather shoes to his feet.

"All will be explained soon." The lady assured.

Kurt wasn't sure what to make of it, but when he looked in the mirror he realized that he was cleaned up very nicely. Either he was going to a party or to his death. He followed the lady out of the room, down several long hallways. "Whose house is this?" Kurt asked, hoping it was Blaine's.

"This is the Smythe mansion." The lady said. "Here is where I must leave you. Walk down these stairs and turn to the left, there is a room there were Master will see you."

Shocked as to why a Smythe would want to see him, he followed the lady's instructions and entered the room to see Sebastian standing there.

"Ah, Hello Kurt, welcome to my home." Sebastian smiled.

"What the fuck am I doing here? I thought I told you to stay away from me." Kurt asked, unamused.

"Well, don't you want to be here? I know you like me, which is why you talk to me so much." Sebastian said, walking over to stand close to Kurt.

"I talked to you because you were terrifying my friend and got some Neanderthals to beat me up." Kurt said, raising an eyebrow.

"You can be my boyfriend Kurt, just think, dating me opens so many doors for you. Luxury like you can't imagine, the suit you are wearing is Armani, you can have even better than that if you were mine."

"Seriously did you not hear me, Meerkat?" Kurt asked, stunned at Sebastian's pursuit. "I wouldn't like you if you were the last man on earth." He exclaimed. "I am leaving now. Don't you dare try to drug me again. Do you know how messed up that is, drugging people and taking them to your home? I should report you to the police."

"They wouldn't do anything, don't worry." Sebastian said. "For the record, I don't believe you, but I'll humor you, why don't you like me?"

"I hate everything about you. The fact that you think an Armani suit will make up for letting the entire school bully me, for being awful to Rachel and for drugging and kidnapping me. I hate your smirky meerkat face, and the fact that you don't wear a uniform, even though everyone else has too. The fact that you seem to still get most of the solos in choir, even though you can't fucking even show up to class most days."

Sebastian looked confused and slightly hurt. "But, you like clothes, how does Armani not make it better?"

"Ugh, how can one person be so clueless? You'd think with all your money you'd be able to buy some common sense." Kurt groaned, as he turned to leave the room. Kurt made it back to the room he woke in and changed back into his clothes, though he did have a hard time parting with the Armani. He left the mansion and began the long trek home.

When Kurt checked his Email that evening there was a message from Dalton's 'Social Calendar'. On the next Saturday there was to be a dress-up party at the Westerville Country Club that was open to all students. Kurt looked through his closet, and finding last year's Halloween costume, he decided it couldn't hurt to attend. He RSVP'ed to the party, and made sure that he could have his father's truck then.

He went to school that Monday expecting the worst. Surprisingly, other than a few passing insults, he survived the day unscathed, and he wondered if Blaine had anything to do with it. Perhaps Sebastian was still full of the idea that Kurt had a crush on him and was holding back his goons to 'show his affection'. Either way, it was nice for Kurt to not have to watch his back so much. Rachel and he were able to eat outside again, and even if no one was bullying Kurt at the moment, Rachel was the only person who was actually being a friend.

"I want to audition for a solo in Trouble Tones." Rachel said Tuesday at lunch.

"What song do you want to sing?" Kurt asked, looking up from his sandwich.

"I was thinking something from Funny Girl. I love anything that Barbra has done, she is my idol obviously. I have been practicing 'I'm the Greatest Star' a lot lately, but I also love 'Don't Rain on My Parade'. What do you think I should do?" Rachel fretted, tapping her fingernails against the picnic table.

"I think you would be really good at 'Don't Rain on My Parade." Kurt said honestly. "You have the show presence for such an iconic number."

"You think so? Thank you. My dads are always saying I am going to be just like Barbra and I have tried to emulate her in every way. Did you know that during the filming of the movie 'Funny Girl' she had a love affair with her costar? Do you think I should do the same if I get a duet? It might be good for popularity."

"Rachel, you are in an all-girls choir." Kurt pointed out.

"So? I am an amazing actor, it's not like it's hard to be gay." Rachel said.

"I am pretty sure you will make more enemies than friends if you pretend to be a lesbian and date your duet partner." Kurt said. "Plus all the drama from the relationship and popularity might affect your singing." He hoped that at least would convince her to ditch her crazy idea.

"Maybe. I guess I can save the love affair for when I am in Hollywood or on Broadway." Rachel conceded. They continued eating in silence before the bell rang they had to head off to different classes. Kurt wasn't interested in thinking about any of his friend having love affairs, and he hoped she dropped that idea immediately.

The week dragged on, almost boring now with the lack of excitement compared to last week. Finally it was time for the costume party and Kurt carefully took the time to put on his costume. Looking in the mirror, Kurt no longer looked back, but a strapping imitation of Batman's Robin. He took his dad's keys and drove the long way to the Westerville Country Club. He hoped that in a social setting he might be more likely to make friends. He gave the truck to the valet and walked up the long pathway to the doors of the building. He walked through the giant main room to the side, where a sign declared the room to be the location of the Dalton Annual Dress Up Party. Kurt opened the door, to see several hundred students dressed in their finest suits and dresses.

Stunned Kurt wondered if he had misread the invitation. He slowly backed out, hoping no one would notice, but the hope was in vain, as soon a few students began laughing, until the whole room erupted in laughter, all obviously pointed at him. He looked around the room at the people laughing. Across the room from him stood the G4 group. A stunned Sebastian, Nick and Jeff were gaping, and Blaine, Blaine looked shocked, and unlike the rest of the room, wasn't laughing. Next to him stood a tall blond man, who Kurt recognized from the bus. The blond man was staring at him, and suddenly began striding towards him. Kurt quickly exited the room. What if the man knew he liked Blaine? Was he coming to beat him up? Kurt leaned against the wall and slide down it to the floor, head in his hands as the laughter continued inside.

The door swung open, and the blond man was standing out in the lobby, looking around for Kurt, before his eyes caught on him sitting against the wall. He knelt down next to him.

"I'm Sam." He said, tapping Kurt's knee.  
>"What?" Kurt asked, confused.<br>"I am Sam, Sam I am." He grinned. "Come with me, okay?" He stood up and held out his hand to help Kurt up.

"I'm Kurt." Kurt said, not sure what to do as he followed the model through the Country Club. "Is this your room?" Kurt asked as they stopped for Sam to unlock a door.

"Yes, I mean, I'm not going to, deflower you, or whatever, but yeah." Sam said, noting the concern on Kurt's face and ushering him inside, closing the door behind them. Inside the room looked like a teenage boy had been let loose, and Kurt figured that wasn't far from the truth.

Sam walked over to a door and opened it, revealing a row of clothes. "We're going to get you changed and back to that party." Sam said.

"What? I am not going back there!" Kurt stammered. There was no way he was returning to be mocked some more.

"Don't worry, Kurt. I won't let that happen." Sam said, patting Kurt's shoulder. "Now go put this on." He pushed Kurt towards the bathroom, handing him a suit.

Kurt closed the door and pulled the suit out of its garment bag. He changed into the suit, and looked in the mirror. He looked surprisingly good. He pulled at his hair, trying to rearrange it when a knock sounded at the door. "You finished?" Sam asked through the door.

"Yeah, just a second." Kurt said, stepping back and opening the door.

"Damn, you clean up good, Kurt." Sam complimented. "You ready to go face the party?"

"Thanks, and um, I guess?" Kurt said, taking Sam's arm when he offered it. They walked back through the halls of the country club, back to the ballroom. The doors swung open, and the students turned to the door to see who was there, but none of them seemed to have expected the switch. Sam led Kurt into the room, past the gaping students. Rachel, who was standing across the room in a pink gown gave him a thumbs up and a smile when their eyes met. Kurt started to wonder where Rachel was earlier when everyone was laughing at him, but Sam spoke, bringing him back to the present.

"You know, Blaine, it is such a shame for such a handsome man to not be dancing right now." Sam said, nudging Blaine.

Blaine smiled up at Sam before realizing what he meant. "Yes of course! Kurt, may I have the honor?" Blaine offered his arm and took Kurt to the dance floor, but not before Sam could whisper in Kurt's ear, "Go get him, tiger."

A new song began playing, and the singer began their song as Blaine put his hands on Kurt's waist, leaving Kurt to put his arms around the shorter boy's neck.

The lyrics played as Kurt and Blaine swayed. Kurt wasn't sure how he was even still standing, he was so nervous to be dancing with Blaine. His mind was reeling with all that had happened lately, and he missed the impressive glare that Sebastian was staring through Blaine's back, before turning around and storming out of the ballroom.

The two boys continued dancing until the song ended. Blaine bowed low and led Kurt back to the group. A second song started, and while Kurt hoped beyond hope that Blaine would ask him to dance again, he wasn't surprised when Blaine ended up dancing around the ballroom with Sam in his arms. Disappointed, he walked outside to where the country club's pool was. The area was lit with star shaped lights hanging from the trees around the pool, and small torches placed in the ground among the flower beds. Hearing a noise Kurt looked up, seeing Sebastian, who looked upset. He watched unnoticed as Sebastian paced to and from the pool, glaring at the water as if it had somehow insulted him. Sebastian then pulled out his phone, reading off the screen as he paced towards the pool, distracted by whatever he was reading, Kurt saw him step too close to the pool and-

"AHHHH!" Sebastian cried out as he tripped and fell into the cold water.

Kurt ran over instantly. He didn't want to ruin his suit in the chlorine water, but he didn't have time to take his suit off to rescue Sebastian, who couldn't swim, if the weak flailing around was anything to go by. Kurt dived into the pool, trying not to shudder as the cold water soaked him to the bone. He swam over to Sebastian and wrapped an arm around the boy's chest, struggling to pull him back to the edge of the pool. By now Sebastian's flails had gone still, and Kurt wasn't sure if the boy was still alive.

A crowd had gathered at the pool, brought there by the sound of splashing water. Several boys came forward and helped Kurt drag Sebastian out of the pool and onto the rough concrete surrounding it. Kurt motioned for everyone to stand back as he took Sebastian's pulse. Not feeling anything, Kurt stared down at him, undecided on what to do.

"He might need mouth to mouth." A student suggested.

Kurt nodded. He didn't want to, goodness knows that he would rather die than willingly let his lips touch Sebastian's, but Kurt also knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he let Meerkat die. He leaned forward and did several chest compressions, and finally leaned the rest of the way forward. With a breath in for strength, he pressed his lips against Sebastian's, breathing out, like he was taught at McKinley's health class. Pulling back and not noticing any change, Kurt did it again, pushing on Sebastian's chest, and breathing into him. When he pulled back the second time, Sebastian spluttered, coughing up the water he had inhaled. Kurt sat on the concrete a little bit away from Sebastian, until he finished emptying his lungs. Sebastian rolled over to look at Kurt. "So was kissing me all that you imagined?" He said, smirking as best as he could.

"You freakin asshole!" Kurt yelled at him. "You still think I like you? Oh my God get over yourself." Kurt stood up and walked away through the crowd that had gathered. He found Blaine and told him to make sure that Sebastian got home okay, and told Sam that he would return the suit to him when he could, but Sam insisted he keep it.

Kurt walked out to the valet station with a complimentary towel from the country club, and waited for his car to be brought around. He sure was going to have some great stories for Mercedes, he thought, if this sort of thing continues.

The next school day Kurt arrived at the room where he was to meet his vocal coach to find the studio full again, but this time instead of chairs it was full of rows of music books. Unbeknownst to Kurt, across the school campus in the G4 study hall, Sebastian was watching all that occurred in that room. He was seated in a large leather chair, laughing as Kurt yelled, venting his frustration before beginning to clean up the room.

"Hey, Sebastian, don't you think you should lay off the new kid? He did just save your life after all." Jeff pointed out.

"What can I say? He is fun to mess with." Sebastian said, turning back to the TV.

"Where is Blaine this morning?" Nick asked.

Sebastian answered. "Oh, he went off by himself somewhere, depressed about Sam being here, or by Sam probably leaving soon, who knows."

"Ah. I forgot how he gets when Sam is around. You would think that if he liked the guy he would be happy when he is around." Jeff said.

"I think he smiled once or twice." Sebastian said.

"Wow, that might be a record." Nick laughed. "As much as I like Sam, I hate seeing how sad Blaine gets when he is around or just after he leaves."

"The dangers of love, I guess." Jeff said.

Kurt soon left the music hall, after a text from his vocal coach said he wasn't going to be there today. He walked down the path, enjoying the crisp weather, when the sound of a violin crept through the trees. Kurt picked up his pace, hoping to see Blaine. Rounding the corner, he saw Blaine, jotting down some notes in a notebook, and walked up to the bench.

"Hi, Blaine." He greeted, noting the way Blaine's eyes seemed to look slightly empty.

"Oh, hello Kurt." Blaine responded, moving some books to give Kurt a place to sit.

"Are you writing music for something?" Kurt asked, looking at the notebook.

"Yes, there is a concert at my parent's music hall soon and I am adding some finishing touches to an original piece."

"Oh, that's cool!" Kurt said, not noticing that they weren't alone.

"Quick! Did you get the shot?" Echo whispered to Julie, who was holding a camera and peeking through the brush.

"Almost! Calm down." Julie said, shushing Echo as she leaned forward and focused her lens. After a few quiet clicks she pulled back. "Okay, I got some. What do you think?"

Echo took the camera and browsed through them. "These are good, we should deliver these now." Echo handed back the camera and took Julie's hand, sneaking through the woods and back to the path unnoticed.

Kurt smiled as Blaine described his plan for the concert, but a glance at his watch told him he had to be on his way. "I'm sorry Blaine, I have to go and catch the bus." He said. "Goodbye!"

After Blaine bid him farewell he walked down the path and luckily made it to the bus on time.

Echo and Julie walked up to the senior study rooms, walking until they found the one at the end of the row, the largest one. A sign in the window showed that this area was reserved for Sebastian Smythe, Blaine Anderson, Nick Duval and Jeff Sterling. Echo glanced at Julie before knocking on the door.

From the other side of the door they heard someone get up and walk towards the door.

"Yes?" the platinum blond boy, Jeff, asked.

"Hello, we are here to see Mr. Smythe. Something involving Kurt Hummel." Echo said, holding up the camera.

"Come in." Jeff said, opening the door wider and closing it behind them. He walked towards a giant chair. "Sebastian?" he asked, and the chair turned around.

"Yes?" Sebastian asked, looking the girls over.  
>"We have some pictures we think you might be interested in." Julie said, handing the camera towards Sebastian.<p>

Sebastian took the camera and scrolled through the pictures, looking increasingly frustrated. "Dammit Blaine." He said. "You already have Sam, do you need to enrapture everyone you meet?" Sebastian swore and stood up, throwing the camera onto the ground. Julie cried out, falling to the floor to pick up the camera, checking to see if anything had broken.

Echo looked up at Sebastian. "We didn't want you to be upset, but we didn't want him to lead you on." She said. "They have been meeting there ever since Kurt enrolled here."

"I'm not upset with you." He said, scarily calm. Echo took a step back. "Looks like it's time to try plan B." Sebastian said to no one in particular, though everyone knew the plan involved Kurt.

When Kurt returned to school the next day he strode down the path to choir class, glancing at the bench when it came into view. Instead of the white clad shorter man he expected, a tall man was there, in black. "Sebastian!" He exclaimed, stopping his progress down the path.

"Yes, it's me." Sebastian stood up, and walked towards Kurt.

Kurt took a few steps back, wary. "What do you want?"

"You're disappointed that I'm not your precious Blaine huh?"

"What are you talking about?" Kurt stammered, confused.

"You looked pretty cozy with him last afternoon." Sebastian pressed, stepping closer.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I have no time for your demented yammering." Kurt pushed Sebastian out of the way and tried to walk pass him, but he grabbed Kurt's arm, pulling him closer.

"What are you trying to do?" Kurt asked, looking worried.

"I tried to be nice to you." Sebastian said, leaning forward.

"Are you trying to kiss me?" Kurt asked incredulously, staring at Sebastian's lips which were just inches away from his. "That is not happening. Not even in your dreams."

"Am I really that disgusting to you?" Sebastian asked, letting Kurt go.

"Basically, yeah." Kurt said, turning around and quickly walking towards the choir building, not sparing a glance back.

After his choir class let out, which luckily Sebastian didn't show up to, Kurt walked up to the roof of the boy's dorm and called Mercedes to tell her what happened.

"Are you serious?!" She exclaimed, when Kurt had finished his story.

"As the plague. He thought, and probably still thinks I like him. He's so self-absorbed. " Kurt said.

"Goodness, boy you better look after yourself, who knows what he might try next! That is seriously disturbing." Mercedes said. "Sorry Kurt, I have to go now though, the bell is about to ring."

They bid each other farewell and Kurt headed off to his lunch, hopeful that he could talk to Rachel about something else to distract him from his racing thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

Kurt ran down to block, eager to get home. While nothing exciting awaited him, he was looking forward to crawling in bed and sleeping for hopefully the next ten years. When he burst through the front door he saw his father sitting on the couch, going through the mail.

"Kurt, that you?" He asked, looking up.

"No, it's my twin." Kurt grinned, sitting down next to his father but leaning away to avoid his hair being ruffled by Burt. "Anything for me?" He asked.

"Matter of fact, there is." Burt said, handing Kurt an envelope.

"Woah, this is fancy!" Kurt said, taking in the silver embossed envelope with his name written in calligraphy on the front.

"You gonna open it?" Burt asked.

"Yeah, just give me a second." Instead of tearing it open like he usually did Kurt stood up and walked over to the drawer in the kitchen to take out the letter opener and use that. He walked back to his dad and opened it. Unfolding the letter he began to read out loud.

"Dear Mr. Kurt Hummel, This invitation is extended in hopes that you will be free to attend Samuel Evan's 19th birthday celebration at the Westerville Country Club. Regards, Sam."

"Who is this 'Sam'?" Burt asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, he is the friend of someone I talk to at school sometimes." Kurt said, not sure if he should consider Blaine a friend or not.

"You gonna go?" Burt asked.

"I guess, I just need to find something to wear." Kurt pondered if he had anything he could wear before he remembered that he had the suit Sam gave him at the ball. "I have an idea!" Kurt exclaimed. "Goodnight Dad!" He raced down the stairs to his, grabbing the suit and pulling out his sewing supplies. He had been able to salvage the suit, and was eager to make some alterations for the party.

Having been to the country club before, Kurt decided to spend this trip through the buildings looking around instead of staring at the floor. The Westerville Country Club definitely lived up to its name. Four marble pillars stood in front of the giant doors, and Kurt couldn't help but feel like a prince, as the doormen opened both doors wide for him. He walked through the lobby, a wide room with leather recliners and small tables everywhere. Classical paintings hung on beige walls that rose to the ceiling, where an amazing crystal chandelier lit the room.

A sign against the far wall read 'Samuel Evan's Birthday Party', and Kurt followed the arrow towards a wooden door. Another bellboy stood outside it, and after checking Kurt's invite, let him through.

When Kurt thought that the lobby was amazing, he hadn't expected the party room to be even more amazing, but somehow it was. Windows on the right wall over looked a well groomed golf course, and against the left wall a fire burned warmly in the hearth, throwing dancing shadows across the walls. The lights overhead were dimed, and a gold and red carpet ran across the floor.

Kurt tentatively took a few steps forward, almost afraid he might be thrown out. He had never been in such a beautiful room, surrounded by such rich and beautiful people. Kurt glanced around the room, looking for a familiar face.

On the far wall in front of him, a door opened, and Sam and Blaine walked through, both dressed impeccably. Blaine was in his signature white, and Kurt had no doubt why Sam was a model, in his black suit. It stung a bit, seeing Blaine with someone else, but Sam was a very nice man, Kurt thought.

The two men approached the desert table, standing in front of the large cake, opposite of the group of people. Kurt walked up to one of the smaller tables, where Nick, Jeff, and unfortunately, Sebastian were. He may not particularly know them, or like them, though he thought Nick and Jeff to be harmless, but he knew them better than everyone else in the room, baring Sam and Blaine of course.

While Sam and Blaine discussed something among themselves, Nick turned to Kurt. "You look quite sharp tonight, Kurt." He said, and his words brought Kurt to the attention of the other two at the table.

"Indeed, you are most definitely the best dressed here." Jeff agreed.

Sebastian huffed.

Nick glared at him, but turned back to Kurt. "Who are you wearing? I must say I haven't seen that design before."

"Oh, I altered it myself." Kurt said.

Sebastian huffed again.

Kurt began to respond, but the sound of silverware on glass brought his attention to Sam. Everyone applauded him, as he blew out the candles, and a polite but quiet rendition of 'Happy Birthday' was sung whilst Blaine accompanied them on his violin.

As the song ended, Sam spoke. "I'd like to thank you all for coming," He said, pausing to smile at Kurt. "I wanted to gather all of my friends here together, I have a big announcement! I'll be officially moving to L.A. in a few days. I know I haven't gotten to spend much time with you here, but I've been offered a modeling contract I can't refuse."

The room grew silent.

"I am glad I get to see you all before I leave, and thank you again for coming." Sam finished speaking and the room grew silent. Blaine turned and walked out of the room, but Sam stayed out, chatting with a few of his friends.

"Shit." Sebastian said. "No wonder he was so moody."

"Maybe it's for the best? Now that Sam will stay away indefinitely, I mean." Jeff said.

"Possibly." Sebastian groaned. "But I don't expect him to be in a good mood anytime soon."

Kurt's heart ached for Blaine. From what he could gather, Blaine was more than just enamored with Sam, and his departure must be so painful. However, Kurt couldn't help but feel slightly hopeful that it would give himself a chance.

As Kurt was pondering this, Sam approached their table, taking his time to thank them all, and after he hugged Kurt, Kurt watched him leave the room, through the same door that Blaine had used. Curious, Kurt excused himself and followed Sam.

Sam walked through the calm halls of the country club, nodding his head at the people he passed by. He liked it here. Truth be, he wasn't picky, but since he had started networking, many of his friends in the modeling business where rich, and he had doubted many of them would agree to come to a barbeque picnic. Their loss though, he thought. He pulled out his keycard, leaving the door ajar behind him as he walked into the bedroom, to find Blaine sitting on the bed, his suit jacket thrown across the desk chair. Blaine had his legs crossed, his eyes captivated by the Darth Vader action figure in his hands.

"I didn't know you still had that." Sam said, sitting beside Blaine on the bed.

"I have everything you ever gave me." Blaine said sadly. "So why don't I still have your heart?" He looked up at Sam.

"I wish you could have it." Sam said. "But you know I have to do this. I want to be able to buy my parents a house, instead of just covering their rent, and this contract allows me to do that. Blaine, everything I want is in L.A. I can't let this opportunity pass me by."

"Everything?" Blaine asked, looking down at the action figure.

"Well, not everything." Sam said, and he could see the corner of Blaine's mouth flicker up. "You don't think it kills me to leave you here?"

Sam touched his finger to the bottom of Blaine's chin, lifting his head to face Sam. Tears were welling up on Blaine's eyes, and with the pad of his thumb, Sam brushed away the ones that rolled down Blaine's slightly stubbled cheeks. Blaine met Sam's eyes, and for an instant, he thought that Sam might be the sun, the way the small smile seemed to light across his face. Blaine returned the smile, momentarily forgetting that this could be one of the last times he would see his best friend, and love of his life.

The reminder made the tears return to his eyes, and his head tilted down, but Sam lifted his chin again. "Please don't cry, Blaine." He said, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Blaine's.

Fireworks. Blaine felt them erupting in his stomach. It had been so long since they had kissed each other, and Blaine had forgotten what it was like. Sam was enthusiastic, licking at the seam of Blaine's lips, begging to be let in, and Blaine never refused him. Kissing Sam was everything, and not enough at the same time, and Blaine reveled in the way it felt to have Sam's hand caressing his neck as they kissed. Blaine let out a small sigh and that only seemed to encourage Sam. Blaine let his hands run through Sam's soft blond hair, tugging at the roots when Sam deepened the kiss.

Blaine remembered though, what this was. This kiss meant goodbye. They weren't 14 years old and sitting on Sam's front step, fumbling though their first kiss as the leaves fell off the trees around them and the bitter cold made them snuggle close. They weren't 17 and tangled together in Blaine's bed, sweaty and relaxed. They were 19, and Sam was kissing him goodbye for the last time.

Slowly, the kiss slowed down, until they were left panting, lips only inches apart.

Through the door, Kurt watched the whole thing, turning to leave as the kiss ended, his heart broken.

He walked out into the hallway, sliding down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, head in his hands. He didn't have a moment to himself before he heard footsteps approaching him.

"Are you really going to cry here?" Sebastian asked, and Kurt lifted his head to glare.

The sound of shuffling came through the cracked door, and Kurt scrambled to his feet. He didn't want to be seen like this, not by Blaine or Sam, and he didn't want them to know what he had done, spying on them. Kurt turned away to walk down the hall, but the door to Sam's room opened, and Kurt turned around.

"Oh, I didn't know your room was here." Kurt said, hoping they would believe him.

Sebastian snickered, but was silenced by and elbow jab from Kurt.

"We were just planning on going for a walk on the green, would you both like to join us?" Sam asked.

"I don't- I mean-" Kurt stammered.

"What Kurt here is trying to say, is that we were already planning on going for a walk ourselves, and wouldn't like to intrude." Sebastian said. "Goodnight, it was a wonderful party, Sam." He turned around, and to Kurt's surprise, took Kurt's hand in his. As they walked down the hallway Sebastian leaned close to Kurt's ear. "I think I know something that might help." He said cryptically, leading Kurt through a maze of hallways to the parking lot.

"Get in." Sebastian said, motioning to the passenger door as he got in the driver's seat.

"Where are we going?" Kurt asked, getting in the car.

"Scandals." Sebastian said.

"Isn't that a gay bar?" Kurt asked.

"Yes, I told you I knew something that would help." Sebastian turned onto the interstate.

"I don't intend to let some creep give me a blow job in the restroom." Kurt said resolutely. "Plus, why would I go anywhere with you?"

"I meant alcohol." Sebastian said, grinning as Kurt's face turned bright red. "I figure now we are even. You saved me from drowning and I saved you from what would have been an embarrassing moment back there."

"What? That is definitely not a fair trade." Kurt said. "That covers maybe ten percent, but not all of it."

"Fifty percent." Sebastian said.

"Twenty-five." Kurt said.

"Deal."

Sebastian turned off the interstate, weaving between the small roads until they reached a rundown building with a neon sign proclaiming it their destination.

"Welcome, to Scandals." Sebastian said, ushering Kurt past the bouncer, slipping him a fifty. A wave from the bartender made Kurt think that maybe Sebastian was a regular customer.

"What will it be, Kurt? Do you want an appletini? A bloody mary? It's on me."

"I think I will try one of those appletini things." Kurt said. "I hate vampires."

"Okay…" Sebastian said, giving his and Kurt's orders to the bartender, handing him a twenty.

"You can yell or shout or whatever you want here, no one will care." Sebastian informed him.

Kurt looked around and saw that Sebastian was probably right. There were only two other patrons, a drag queen with running mascara singing a slow song at the karaoke machine, and a balding man in the back corner, nursing a beer.

"I don't think I need to cry or anything." Kurt said, taking his drink from the bartender.  
>"You were just crying a while ago." Sebastian pointed out.<p>

"I know, but it's not like it will do me any good, as if I had a chance with him to start with." Kurt took a swig of this drink.

"Yeah, you really didn't. Your personality sucks, your clothing choices are subpar and you like to yell at people too much."

"Excuse me, I only yell at people who piss me off." Kurt defended.

"I must have a PhD in pissing you off then." Sebastian smirked.

"Maybe just a Masters degree." Kurt said.

"Good to know. You are a fascinating study." Sebastian said.

Kurt paused, and the room seemed to warm by a thousand degrees. He could feel his heart pounding in his throat.

Sebastian looked startled, and seemed to question himself. "I, I gotta go, be back soon." Sebastian quickly made his way to the exit, the cold air cooling his racing pulse.

Inside, Kurt slugged back his drink, desperate to find some way to tolerate this greatly embarrassing and disturbing evening.

When Sebastian returned, Kurt was entirely wasted. He was slumped forward, his head resting on the bar, watching his fingers trace patterns into the wood.

"Sebawston, you're back." He said, trying to sit up straight. Sebastian took the stool next to him and raised an eyebrow. "I can't thank you enough, you know, for saving me earlier." Kurt's speech was slurred but Sebastian patiently waited for him to finish.

"This is what you want right? I can give it to you." Kurt said. He lurched forward, and Sebastian waited to see what would happen. Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck, standing up to get closer. Kurt moved his mouth towards Sebastian, but just as their mouths were about to meet, Kurt sat back down.

"Ohhhh I think I'm gonna be sick." Kurt groaned, and threw up on the floor.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. This must be the first time Kurt has gone drinking, he thought. "Come on." He said, when Kurt had finished. He slipped the bartender some extra money, and carried Kurt out of the bar into his car, where Kurt promptly passed out. Looking at the clock, Sebastian sighed. "Well, there is no way I am taking you home tonight." He said to himself.

Kurt woke up on a cloud. Silk sheets brushed across his skin, and his head rested on the softest pillow he had ever felt. He sat up, stretching his arms when his head began to pound, the same time that he realized he was not in his bed, or even his home.

"Oh no, what happened?" He mumbled to himself.

"Hi, I see you've _finally_ woken up. Almost thought you were dead." A nearby voice said.

Kurt shot up, looking around the room until he saw Sebastian sitting in a chair across the room.

"You and I, we didn't…" Kurt left the question hanging, unsure how to say it.

"We didn't have sex Kurt. We were at a party for Sam, remember? Then something happened and I took you to a bar and you drank them out of business." Sebastian smirked, and flipped a page in the book he was reading.

Slowly, the previous evening's activities came back to Kurt, and he flinched, remembering seeing Sam and Blaine kiss. "Oh, thank you, I guess." Kurt muttered, groaning as his headache got worse.

"There is some Advil on the nightstand." Sebastian said, not even bothering to look up. Kurt rolled his eyes but swung his, luckily clothed, legs off the bed, and leaned over to get the pills and the glass of water. As he drank, he took in more of the room. Behind Sebastian were grand windows, the curtains pulled back, that looked out over an impressively large garden, and neatly trimmed grass. Inside the room were several paintings and a bookshelf full of small figurines and books.

They sat there for a while, not speaking, until the butler came in. "Master Smythe?" He asked, waiting for Sebastian to acknowledge him before continuing. "Your mother is here, she just flew in from France."

"WHAT?" Sebastian shouted. "This is, um, thank you for telling me. Oh shit." Sebastian ran a hand through his hair, eyes darting around. "Kurt, come with me, you have to hide."

"Why? What is going on?" Kurt asked, scrambling after Sebastian as he was dragged down a hallway.

"My mother would not approve of me having you here, you have to hide." Sebastian pulled him into a room, locking the door behind them.

"Why can't I just leave? Then she doesn't have to know."

"It's not that simple. There is going to be a fashion show tonight, and Maman has many different ways of forcing me to attend, one of which is around the clock guards." Sebastian paced around the room, pulling out his cell phone and dialing someone.

Kurt took the opportunity to see where they were. It seemed to be someone's living quarters. The area consisted of a large room with several doors leading to what Kurt assumed was a closet and bathroom. Three giant windows were on the wall above a large four poster bed, and Kurt realized this must be Sebastian's room. One wall was floor to ceiling book shelves, full of every kind of book imaginable, and the other wall was hung with many pictures, a closer look showed them to be of Sebastian with his friends. Sebastian and Blaine smiling in front of the Eiffel Tower, Jeff and Nick dancing at a ball, and so many more.

A small nook near the door had a dark stained wood desk, covered in all matter of technical things. A laptop, a desktop computer, several different phones and a camera.

Sebastian was speaking now, and Kurt tried to listen in.

"Guys, Maman is here." A pause as those on the other end spoke. "No, Kurt's here- Not like that! I need to sneak him out if that's possible, but we need a backup plan. Ok, I'll see what I can do, see you soon." Sebastian put his phone down and walked over to Kurt.

"Okay, Blaine, Jeff and Nick are on their way over, hopefully we can figure something out."

There were footsteps on the other side of the door, and Sebastian shoved Kurt through a door into what appeared to be a giant closet. "Stay here, I will deal with Maman. Don't make a sound!" Sebastian closed the door, leaving Kurt in wonder. The closet was huge. Floor to ceiling drawers broke up the section of clothes, one for suits, one for shirts, and to Kurt's dismay, one for polo shirts.

He stared at all the clothes, wondering if this was heaven, until Sebastian opened the door. "You can come out now. I mean, unless you want to get more acquainted with my wardrobe."

Blushing, Kurt followed Sebastian back into his room. Another knock came at the door and Sebastian opened it, letting his friends through.

"Hey Kurt." They greeted, before sitting down in the chairs, ready to discuss how to get Kurt out unnoticed.

"I don't think we can." Sebastian said. "Maman has already posted guards, I'm stuck here."

"Well, Kurt could just go to the fashion show." Jeff suggested.

"Where would he get clothes?" Sebastian asked.

"Kurt, didn't you tailor that other suit to fit you? Can you do that to one of Sebastian's? You have a couple hours."

Kurt paused to think about it. "Do I get to choose what suit I want?" He asked.

"Sure…" Sebastian said.

"Alright then, I can do it."

"Better get moving, we gotta make you look rich." Jeff said, and he and Nick took Kurt back to the closet to rifle through Sebastian's suits. Blaine stayed behind to talk to Sebastian.

"You doing okay?" Sebastian asked Blaine, concerned.

"I think so, it's not something I haven't had to deal with before." He said, but Sebastian still wasn't sure.

"Alright, well, if you need anything, you know where I live." Sebastian said, patting Blaine on the back.

The fashion show was due to start soon, and Kurt had barely finished the suit in time. Luck had been on his side that there wasn't much that needed to be done to one of Sebastian's suits other than hemming the pants and sleeves.

Kurt rushed through fixing his hair up, and was waiting with the boys for the car to come around. He wondered why he couldn't just stay in the car after they were dropped off and go get his car and go home, but Sebastian insisted he had to come, and Kurt wouldn't deny that he did really want to go to a fashion show.

A long limousine drove up the drive way, and a footman came out to hold the door open as they got in. Kurt sat next to Sebastian, who had offered him a glass of champagne, and Kurt's refusal made him laugh. Jeff and Nick sat near the front of the limo, messing around with the buttons that controlled the windows, while Blaine stared out the window, watching the other cars drive by as they drove. A short while later they reached their destination, a large gallery with a show hall that had been transformed into seats surrounding a runway. Sebastian gave the host their invites and they were let in. A row of seats was waiting for them, and Jeff mentioned in passing how nice it was that Sam had let Kurt use his ticket. Because of this, Kurt ended up sitting between Sebastian and Blaine, who looked slightly uncomfortable. Kurt wondered why, the chairs were certainly comfortable, but as the lights went down, Blaine's expression remained the same.

The seats had filled around them, several people with cameras circled the room, looking for an ideal vantage point from which to photograph not only the designs, but also the celebrities in attendance. Kurt tried to avoid looking into the camera directly across from them as it took picture after picture of Sebastian and Blaine, with him smack dab in the center.

The hostess walked out the runway, dressed in a red gown, and began to speak into her microphone. "Welcome this evening to Maria Santanella's spring collection to benefit medicinal research in third world countries. Tonight's models are 'Jenessa Loral, Alison Prekno, Lorinda Mallark, Tony Evensworth, Matthew Cono, and Brad Stanor. The designs are up for silent action at the table over there." She pointed to a wooden table with sheets of paper laid across it and an assistant watching. "Enjoy the show!" She walked back to the end of the catwalk and behind the wall. As the music started, the first model walked down the runway in a stunning blue dress, small crystals adorning the hem that flickered as she walked, reflecting the spot lights. Kurt sat enamored with each design, watching as the dressed flowed around the women's legs, rippling, and Kurt wanted nothing more than to run his hands through the fabric, wondering how the designer had made the dresses so weightless.

A while later, after they had finished modeling the dresses, the hostess came out again, and informed them that there would be a short break before the men's section. Sebastian stood up and the rest of them followed him out of the show room and into another room, where refreshments were being served. A large table stood in the middle of the room, covered in chocolate dipped strawberries, small slices of cheesecake and other desserts. Kurt started to head over to the table, desperate to try something, but after a few steps, someone grabbed his arm. Turning around to face the person, Kurt came face to face with the hostess of the fashion show. "Excuse me?" He asked.

"Sorry to grab you, but I need you." She said, pulling at his arm.

"Why? What is happening?"

"One of the models got sick and I need someone to fill in. You look close to the same size. Are you willing to do it?" She asked. He nodded, bewildered. "Alright, come with me." She led him down a small hall to a back room where a girl was directing people. The hostess walked up to her, and tapped her arm. "I got someone to fill in."

"Really? Fantastic!" The girl took Kurt's arm and led him off again to a corner of the room and handed him a suit. "Okay, put this on, then the director up there will tell you when to walk, just watch the others and try to follow. When you get back change as quickly as you can into the next outfit here. You got that?"

"Yes, though I wa-"

"Sorry, gotta go, good luck!" The girl left him alone to change, and bewildered, he did.

As he straightened his tie, he saw the lights over the audience go down, and he hurried up to the director.

"Well son, you're third in line, so watch the two in front and see if you can copy them." He told Kurt, and Kurt paid close attention to the models on the cat walk. He glanced quickly at the audience and could see that Sebastian kept turning his head, looking for something, and Kurt remembered that he hadn't told any of the boys where he was going. Well, I guess they will know soon, he thought, as he walked up the steps, ready to step out onto the catwalk once the other model walked back. A tap on his back signaled it was his time to go, and doing his best to hide his nervousness, he stepped forward, and confidently walked up the stage, winking at Sebastian when he caught him gaping. He stood at the end of the runway for a few seconds, waiting for the photographers to take some pictures, then turned around and walked back.

When he returned he was patted on the back and rushed off to change. Luckily the show didn't go on for much longer. Kurt may love the chance to shine in amazing clothes, but this opportunity had caught him by surprise and had tired him out. Finally all the models and Kurt were lead onto the stage to bow, and the hostess thanked everyone for attending, and reminded them that the clothes were for auction at the table at the end of the room. Everyone exited the stage and Kurt changed into his previous clothes, and walked out to the main room, after the hostess handed him a check.

"This was going to go to the other model, but since you took over here you are!" She said. "Thanks for taking over." She bid him farewell and he went to find Sebastian, Blaine, Jeff, and Nick. When he found them they congratulated him on his short but successful bout as a model. "You did well Kurt!" Nick praised, smiling. Jeff held his hand up for a high five, which Kurt gladly gave him.

Blaine smiled, and told him he did a good job, and Sebastian didn't say anything. Finally they were able to head back, and Sebastian had the driver drop Kurt off at his truck, so he could drive it home.

"Goodbye guys!" Kurt said, after thanking them for the interesting afternoon. They told him goodbye and were about to get back in the car when Blaine walked forward, and whispered in his ear.

"Tomorrow at the airport, 5PM, we're seeing Sam off to L.A. and I would really like it if you were there." He said.

"I will try." Kurt promised, before getting in his car and waving to Blaine.

The drive home was relatively short, his mind distracting him with all his new experiences.


End file.
